Affordable Care Act affects Medicare

Seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries should be aware that this year is an important one. They should pay attention to their Medicare coverage options during the open enrollment period between Oct. 15 to Dec. 7 because of the Affordable Care Act.

The ACA brings with it notable changes to Medicare, from more preventive care benefits to changes in costs. Beneficiaries need to understand both the upside and downside of such changes to best evaluate their options.

Adding to the challenge of this year's Medicare changes is broader confusion around the ACA itself.

UnitedHealthcare conducted a survey in 2013 called the Medicare Made Clear Index and found that 76 percent of people ages 60 and older say they have a “fair” or “poor” understanding of the ACA.

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Re Fabiola Santiago’s Dec. 14 column, “The ethics of Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his lobbyist sons stink,” about my sons and my ethics: First, my son Carlos J. (C.J.) does not lobby Miami-Dade County government. He is a lawyer who was working in the government legal affairs field before I was elected mayor in 2011.

Yet he has not been active in any county business. Santiago initially included him as an active lobbyist in the online version of her column, then when advised that he is listed as “not active lobbyist” — as posted on the county website — she did not include the date of Jan. 27, 2011 that is listed as the last “inactive.”